TUF 14 coaches go toe-to-toe on conference call

Both coaches had high praise for their teams and the level of competition that comes to Spike TV starting next Wednesday night. But when it comes to each other, the two opposing coaches mostly traded insults and verbal jabs, adding fuel to the rivalry that will come to a head December 3 on The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale in Las Vegas.

Here’s a collection of the shots fired between the two earlier today.

How they felt filming the season opposite one another

Miller: I’ll say this about Michael—he’s a complex character that you could write many tomes of knowledge on. As the season wore on, yes, I hated his guts. Then I didn’t mind him so much, and now I’m back to hating his guts. Go ahead, Mike.

Bisping: If you’re saying I’m a complex character; [expletive], you have about 15 different personalities. Jason’s one of those guys that you either love him or you hate him. I definitely hate him. I think most people around him find him very, very annoying; I know the people on The Ultimate Fighter did, and I was no different. At the start of the show I hated him, during the show I hated him, at the end of the show I hated him. December 3 I’m going to kick his ass, so it’s all good.

Bisping on whether “Mayhem” got under Bisping’s skin the way Jorge Rivera had prior to UFC 127

It all depends. Miller’s annoying for a couple different reasons. He’s idiotic; he just comes up with stupid shit constantly. Rivera was different because it wasn’t just him; it was his entire team. They were cool, calm and collected about it, made videos, and they crossed the line; they talked about family and stuff like that, stuff that I don’t really want to go into and drag up again. It takes a pretty low individual to do things like that.

Jason’s not like that; he’s just idiotic, as I said. He tried to wind me up a few times on the show as you’ll see, and they were all very, very feeble attempts. His mouth is definitely bigger than his brain. He tried a few things; you’ll see, they were very childish and easy to overcome, and get one up on him. He didn’t wind me up to that extent.

Miller on the dynamic between the two

I definitely got under his skin. As you’ll see as the season plays out, man. Aside from the excellent fights and the very talented group of guys who came into the show, me and Mike, just our personality clash, put a damn good show on; there’s no way around it. I credit the UFC with making that decision to put us opposite of each other because we both have a strong personality and it was bound to clash.

On what’s going to happen when they meet December 3 in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale

Miller (after Bisping said Miller was praising him, trying to be nice): Don’t get me wrong—I think you’re way worse of an idiot than I am, and I’m going to smash your face and choke you. I’m just saying.

Bisping: Nice to see you’ve been warming up on your sister. I definitely won’t be practicing guillotine escapes. If she can escape your guillotine, I should be good.

On whether they each turned out the way the other expected them to be during the show

Miller: My initial beliefs, I gave Mike the benefit of the doubt, but he fully proved himself to be a prick by Week Two.

Bisping: I always give people the benefit of the doubt. I’ve hung around Jason on a few occasions—we have some mutual friends, we’ve hung out a few times. I thought he was an okay kind of guy. The more time I spent around him, the more he irritated me, the more he started to get under my skin. As the show progressed and started getting on, that’s when he showed his true colors and really started to piss me off really. You’ll see as the season progresses: he loses control, he crosses the line, and you’ll see why he’s not on my Christmas card list.

Whether this is more akin to a sibling rivalry or genuine animosity and hatred for each other

Miller: we hate each other’s guts. At the same time, I can’t speak for Mike because I can’t talk with that stupid accent, but I’ll say this: there has to be a mutual respect at some level because December 3, we’re going to get in the cage across from each other. I know that he puts in work. I know that he trains hard, and I respect that. As a person, yeah, I’m going to tell him I hate him, but at the end of the day, we’re all fighters and there is a brotherhood amongst all of us.

Bisping: Hate is a very strong word; I wouldn’t say I hate him. Do I find him irritating? Do I find him annoying? Yes, I do. Do I want to fight him on December 3, kick his ass and shut his big fat mouth? Yes, I do. Do I wish him any real harm to him or his family? No I don’t, not at all. That said, it’s going to be very satisfying to wipe the floor with him and make a fool of him.

Bisping on what will transpire December 3 when they fight

Between you and me and everyone else on the line, Jason’s already admitted that I’m pretty much going to beat him. He says I have better stand-up, better cardio, he knows I’m bigger and stronger; these are things he’s admitted to me. He’s already beaten mentally. December 3 is just a formality of showing up and collecting my pay.

I can’t wait for The Ultimate Fighter to start and people to watch again so that when people say, “Hey Bisping, when are you fighting again?” and I say, “December 3,” and they say, “against who?” and I say, “Jason Miller,” and they say, “who? Who’s that?” I won’t have to answer those questions anymore; everyone will now who he is then because he’ll have a presence in the UFC, which is something that he’s never had before.

Miller on Bisping’s coaching staff

His coaching staff is a lot of guys I trained with back in the day and I moved on because they weren’t up to par with what I needed. That just goes to show you Mike’s level of coaching staff.